Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews

Tired of Spending all That Time Filling Your ICE Fuel Tank? Buy an Electric Scooter and be on Your Way in 10 Seconds

The problem with internal combustion engines is that it takes so long to refuel them. 5-10 minutes might be typical, but 10 seconds would be better. This is the future of “re-fueling” electric scooters (and, likely, motorcycles as well). The concept is simple: drive up, pull your empty battery out and swap it for a charged one. The Bat’Lib swapping station (described below) also takes up a tiny amount of space, so any existing gas station could install one easily and inexpensively. Take a look at the following press release for all of the details.

DBT CEV, one of the largest electric vehicle charging infrastructure firms in Europe, and Matra, a leading manufacturer of Light Electric Vehicles will introduce today at the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) press conference a unique solution in e-mobility : the Bat’Lib system, an innovative battery swapping station for e-bikes and e-scooters.

The Bat’Lib station allows a user to exchange an empty battery for a full one in less than 10 seconds rather than waiting a few hours for the empty battery to recharge. This intuitive and simple-to-use system eliminates one of the major barriers to electric vehicle use-recharging time-and is ideally suited for electric bike and scooter commercial fleet owners, tour companies, and vehicle sharing programs. Bat’Lib also enables the development of a variety of new business models for renting or leasing batteries and charging services separately from the vehicle purchase.

The Bat’Lib swapping station features ten battery charging ports and its small footprint minimizes space requirements. One port is always kept open to accept a new empty battery while the remaining ports can simultaneously charge nine batteries. The system can be limited to registered users through an RFID system. Upon arrival, the driver removes the empty battery from the vehicle, swipes the RFID card, and inserts the empty battery into the open port. Upon receiving the empty battery, the Bat’Lib immediately opens the door for one of the fully-charged batteries which is ready for immediate use.

The two-wheeler swapping station will support the proliferation of new urban mobility solutions in parallel to the current growing selection of electric and plug-in electric cars in the US. By tailoring new charging infrastructure to urban transportation needs, DBT and Matra have created a practical solution for users looking for an affordable and environmentally-friendly alternative for their transportation needs.

Hervé Borgoltz, President of DBT CEV, states: “After several successful collaborations within the field of innovative EV charging with Matra, we believe that we needed to address all electric mobility needs, not only focusing on charging solutions for the electric car driver but also for users willing to make a difference at the local level with smaller vehicles. Thanks to this joint project with Matra, DBT CEV is able to offer a truly comprehensive portfolio of innovative charging solutions.”

Jacques Bonneville, President of Matra MS, states: “The Light Electric Vehicle Market today is leading the global EV market. Two wheelers will continue to play a major role in solving city congestion in US and European markets for years to come. DBT’s expertise in EV charging and Matra’s advanced batteries and vehicles will allow efficient and affordable mobility solutions for fleets and resorts.”

In addition to the Bat’Lib swapping station for e-scooters and e-bikes, European EV charging leader DBT will be exhibiting a full set of innovative charging infrastructure solutions at booth #1246 during EVS26 from May 6th to May 9th 2012 in Los Angeles (CA).

About DBT: DBT is an engineering company specialized in Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure solutions. DBT has been designing, developing and manufacturing a wide range of EV charging stations since 1992, with six thousand charging points installed in more than twenty countries worldwide. A world-renown leader in e-mobility solutions, DBT has developed a portfolio of customized EV charging solutions for home, public and fleet applications. The company has recently been chosen by Japanese automaker Nissan to deploy a network of 400 Quick Chargers in Europe by 2012. For information about DBT, please visit www.dbtcev.com (Twitter: @dbtcev) or www.dbtus.com (Twitter: @dbtusa).

About Matra: Building upon significant accomplishments over forty years in the European automotive industry, namely in racing (1964-1974), sport utility vehicles (1964-1982) and minivans (1983-2003), Matra, a wholly-owned company of Group Lagardere, offers a comprehensive range of vehicles adapted for all short distance use, from two to four wheels, including bicycles, scooters and electric quadricycles. For information about Matra, please visit www.matra.com.

51 Comments

Overall, this artice begins on a ridiculous premise, that pouring gasoline into a motorcycle takes too long. If that was really the case, we could swap pre-filled fuel tanks in ten seconds, I already do that with the outboard motor on my boat.

No one is holding elctric vehicles to higher standards than ICE vehicles, if their overall performance beat ICE people would buy them, plain and simple. When comparing costs, operational costs for an electric vehicle should be less, but their performance capabilities are far inferior. The ICE has evolved into a durable, low maintenence power source, and most of the maintenence on a motorcycle doesn’t involve the engine any more. Some bikes require only periodic plugs and oil changes. Both ICE and e-bikes are on equal footing with tires, brakes, chains, suspensions, etc.

It’s less than honest to point only to the efficiency of the motor itself, proponents would love to end the conversation right there to avoid the inconvenient truth that generating electricity isn’t 100% efficient, nor is transmitting it, nor is charging the battery, or draining it too. I can fill my gas tank, add some stabilizer, and next year kick start my bike and drive off with full power and undiminished range. How much charge, if any, will your e-bike have left?
Keep in mind right now you are not paying a motor fuel tax on the electricity your e-bike runs on, that will change if they become common.

Improved efficiency is not a priority for most motorcyclists, if I wanted efficiency I’d sell my liter bike and ride a scooter. Touting the gas mileage is for wussies trying to justify buying a bike to their wife. Efficient, low emission vehicles are not why people visit motorcycle showrooms. The truth is, manufacturers only stay within the limits of what they’re required to, because they have to make something that people want to buy. If the law allowed there’d be modern versions of RD350’s and H2’s in the showrooms.

Seems like a lot of comments about electric motorcycles these days. Some assumptions people made don’t hold true for me. I don’t think electric motorcycles are being forced on me by some green group. I think it is more likely that big oil groups are trying to make electric not happen. I like electric, it is a neat concept and should make for some fun times. A clean environment is great, thats why I ride offroad, to enjoy the outdoors. I don’t really follow the green aspect too much though, maybe not much difference right now. I want a fun ride, and I think electric would do it.

I think the green groups are just a front so people give them money. They picked a topic that almost everyone will support. Who doesn’t want a clean environment? We all do. I would agree the liberals are con artists and have many people fooled. They constantly try to close down offroad motorcycle areas. However, I still like electric bikes and do not think you should associate them with some stupid liberal thing.

Whilst the headline is quite misleading, suggesting that refuelling a motorcycle is a significant time waster, I think that the article is about a fairly obvious fault with electric vehicles (charging time) being overcome in a fairly logical approach. Which is good!
The management and ownership of the batteries, with the rental/pricing issues related could be resolved I’m sure. The idea of these charging stations being solar/wind supplied to some extent would make good sense too.
here in the UK, we’re already past the $10/gallon stage. Last year I purchased a PCX125 for my shorter runs to the railway station for my commute. I gave consideration to an electric vehicle, but the performance/price ratio was not good enough. My requirement were for 45+ mpg, but that put me in the position where the elctric vehicle would cost 2 or 3 times the price of the Honda.
Maybe when it’s time for the PCX replacement, the technology and pricing will put it closer to the IC engine running costs at that time.
In the meantime, I’m hapy that Motorcycledaily is keeping us abreast of the latest developments in this very relevant subject matter, as well as telling us that net year’s XYZ1000 has 540g less unsprung weight(!) It’s all interesting to me.

If I had a reasonable commute, and these kinds of bikes could work, I would look into them.

I do not fall into that category, but I read about them anyway because it is interesting to see the advancements and options out there, and how they work (or don’t). Keep up the good articles, MD!

However… People ranting about how great and GREEN these things are compared to ICE are not being truthful, or maybe they were misled themselves. There IS NO FREE LUNCH. we have heard that before, and it is almost always true… If you want to compare the environmental impact of ICE versus Electric, you must consider the whole process, not just the “fueling”. Manufacturing the vehicle, both are comparable in their impact as they have many of the same parts except for the motors. Looking at the motors, ICE is basically a bunch of chunks of metal, arranged and assembled in a clever fashion. Gas tank, fuel lines, pistons and the rest are not much different than the rest of the vehicle. Electric motors are basically just metal as well BUT THE BATTERIES are full of nasty chemicals, rare metals, and have a much larger environmental impact during manufacturing, and eventually recycling when they are used up. Also in the case of an accident, the environmental impact of a battery spill is much worse than for an ICE, just ask any Firefighter who has seen one of these in a crash.

Once they are running, ICE versus Electric does favor the electric in terms emissions. But they are by NO MEANS a Zero emissions vehicle. Electric plants must burn a fuel of some sort. And there is always a loss of energy when it is moved or converted (by the unmutable laws of Physics) so there are transmission line losses, charging adapter losses, and battery storage losses. Whenever anything heats up, there is energy loss creating that heat. Gasoline also has it’s losses with evaporation, but that’s why we have caps and such to minimize it. Gas engines are running cleaner than ever before, so even the emissions aspect of Electrics are getting less relevant.

The final equation can be argued in many degrees, but Electrics are NOT the free lunch many highly endorsing. If it seems to good to be true, it usually is… Look harder for the answers!

Balanced? NO ONE defending electric vehicles thinks there is a “free lunch” and there is no cost for using electricity. People try to hold these vehicles to such a high standard, yet I don’t see anyone scrutinizing all of the costs associated with typical ICE operation.

“Also in the case of an accident, the environmental impact of a battery spill is much worse than for an ICE,”

Oh really? I’d like to see some data on that. I haven’t heard one case of a “battery spill” but I’ve heard plenty of cases of oil spills, or gasoline, coolant, and engine oil spills with car accidents. ICE vehicles can also catch fire and blow up too! What I’m hearing is a lot of assumptions and educated guesses. Several studies have already been done comparing the complete impact of each type of vehicle from start to finish. Electric vehicles which, as you say, use roughly the same amount of parts, but operate at 90% efficiency compared something like 20% efficiency of the ICE, will come out on top. If we could transition more of our energy sources towards clean renewable energy, then this gap would grow further.

“BUT THE BATTERIES are full of nasty chemicals”
Zero Motorcycles batteries are “landfill safe” maybe you could explain how that could be possible if they are so full of nasty chemicals? I’d like to see your info that shows how the batteries “have a much larger environmental impact during manufacturing, and eventually recycling when they are used up.” Again, I’m not denying there’s an impact, but I’d really be interested to see how recycling a battery has much worse impact than say recycling an engine, engine oil, coolant, etc or something like that. I think you’re making assumptions based on your personal understanding.

“Once they are running, ICE versus Electric does favor the electric in terms emissions. But they are by NO MEANS a Zero emissions vehicle. Electric plants must burn a fuel of some sort.”

Yes because electric motors use their energy much more efficiently, as everyone knows. That right there should end the conversation. No one is claiming they have zero impact. Wind turbines don’t burn fuel, and neither do solar panels, or hydro electric dams. Yes, obviously energy went into creating those, but energy also goes into creating a coal plant. Yes, currently there are loses across the grid, we know this. However, one plant making a ton of electricity is more efficient than everyone driving around burning their own source of fuel under the hood to make energy. Electric motors operate at something like 90% efficiency, ICE engines is what around 20% with most of their energy escaping in the form of heat.

Again, no one here is claiming these things are a “free lunch” or the perfect solution, or have zero impact or emissions. What we’re saying is, things like this are a STEP in the right direction to improving efficiency, lowering emissions, reducing dependence on foreign oil, etc. etc. I don’t see how anyone can argue with that.

I don’t think people are realistically holding Electrics to a higher standard, but we are comparing them to an existing standard, the ICE vehicles. Of course, Electrics are still evolutionary, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. But many posts (including some of yours, Motograph) do come off with a impression that the world would be safe, and everyone gets a free hug if we all drove Electrics.

I also have not seen any data on Electrics crashing yet, but talk to any rescue worker , and there are concerns with any battery pack (Hybrid or full electric) in a crash. Properly contained, these packs are fine, but in a crash anything can happen. A battery pack with enough stored energy to move a vehicle at highway speeds for any given distance is a risk.

Landfill safe batteries? Really? I don’t know what kind of marketing hypwe that is, but again, any power pack that stores that much energy has more than just egg shells and cinnamin sticks inside. Every hardware store has a recycling container for Alkaline batteries, Lithium batteries, NiCad batteries, etc… I would think if electric vehicles somehow came up with a landfill safe battery, all our devices would be using them. Perhaps it is landfill safe AFTER it gets some of the nastiness removed… That I would believe.

I am just trying to keep it balanced. There are many posts that want electrics to be instantly better than ICE (better, stronger, faster, cheaper) and they are easily discounted since they are the same posters who complain that ICE vehicles should be lighter, faster, more powerful and cheaper. But then there are long winded rants for the Electrics that come off much the same way.

My long winded rant is just trying to fight fire with fire. Or fight batteries with fire?? Can’t we all just get along?

My god, nothing brings out the narrow minded like green technologies. Give it a rest. No one is shoving it down anyone’s throat. You vote with your dollars, don’t like or want, don’t buy. And still the crusade goes on. I don’t see that there’s anything here that threatens our way of life, grandma or apple pie.

Actually, the current administration IS shoving it down our throats. Green technology will become more viable when it comes down in price. You are correct that we vote with our dollars, but the green industry is no where near ready to replace the fossil fuel industry.

All these naysayers did not have a internet platform when the Japanese introduced their offerings in the 1960s. I think the arguments would be no different than those of the Luddite. Give it time, the technology, as already pointed out, is in it’s infancy. There are some good points made about the state of the batteries exchanged, but I am certain that their state can be ascertained by a sophisticated charging station and perhaps refuse to release a charge battery. Alternatively, as these are tracked by RFIDs cost for the charge / battery swap can be proportional to the state of the battery.

Yes for for many applications battery powered vehicles may not be there yet for all users, but they’ve come a long way in just the last 10 years.

Dirck, keep these articles coming – they interest me, and if not I can skip over them as I might articles on cruisers. Choices, good to have them.

No way, friend. I remember early Japanese offerings and the response from the American public was very positive. We welcomed better quality, performance and increased reliability. I don’t see any of these things being different with the new ebikes being offered to the public. They are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, offer much less performance and ridiculously short range. Please do not compare the ebikes to ICE bikes for another 20 years. Seeing is believing and I will wait until they are comparable before paying more to get less.

“The problem with internal combustion engines is that it takes so long to refuel them”.

Really? What rubbish! And then from there on the article goes even further from reality.

I can pump in more range faster for an ICE than someone with an electric motor. I’ll have the same horsepower on tap when the bike is down to it’s last ounce as when it’s full. If e-bikes were the norm and someone just invented the ICE, you wouldn’t be able to give your e-bike away, and the speed the switch would happen at would spin your head.

I’ve been waiting for someone to think of this … modular, plug & play batteries. I suspect the coming electric age will give rise to all sorts of business opportunities … for those willing to remove their blinders.

and there it is. sooner or later the population’s going to wake up to the fact that “free lunch” doesn’t exist (it never has). we can either willfully lower our standards as to what we will accept…? or, we can have our standards forceably and painfully lowered for us. the laws of physics will not suffer fools.

Seems to me the Greenies are trying to shove electric bikes down our throats, Im sorry but i don’t know to many people who are running to by there 1st Electric bike, but Im sure when they start going the way of the chevy volt ( as in no sales) our government will just throw them some money so they can stay open, maybe Obama should ride one that would boost sales

I don’t mind at all hearing about new technologies, I for one am glad that MD is doing these articles. Don’t like electric bikes? Then ignore the articles. This industry is in it’s infancy, and will dramatically improve as time goes on- just like motorcycles have over the decades. Remember little or no suspensions and sucide shifters? I have an ICE bike right now and love it, but I’m not so narrow to envision and support other forms of power. I actually would like one of the new ebikes, but until the price is more reasonable, or I win the lottery, that probably won’t happen.
As a side note and unrelated, I would also love to see reports on other lesser known brands such as Hyosung, CFMoto and others. For those who don’t like Chinese and other countries made machines and prefer the more well known, consider who makes many of the major brand smaller bikes and scooters now for the major brands- yep. Honda and some others smaller bikes are made in India, some get parts from China.

You hit the nail on the head Steve. Liberals don’t have anything I need but that’s another story for another time. Swapping a full battery for an empty one is a great idea. How much do you think that extra battery would cost? Just for convenience?? Very expensive. And how many new power plants would have to be built to supply all this power? The oil companies won’t build new refineries because of the EPA and haven’t since 1978(I think), so do you think power companies will want to build large numbers of plants? Who will pay for it? The problem here is not oil, coal, mother nature or aliens from Mars. The reason I can’t breath is because of the oppressive government we have right now and all the bleeding heart liberals who support it. Someone more famous than me said “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose”.

Could you please provide us with some examples of how the “govt is wrongly destroying the coal industry?”

Also, I’d like to know what levels of toxins and carcinogens in the environment are acceptable to you. You seem to be okay with some? I guess since we passed those clean air and clean water acts that everything is just perfect now? Those coal power plants just emit fresh air and rainbows? Maybe you should move next door to one and see how that works out. Make sure you eat lots of fish everyday too. Don’t worry about the whole mercury poisoning thing. You’ll be fiiinnneeee.

The government never makes anything better huh? You just said in your own statement that the government can make things better by passing regulations to clean up the environment: “That used to not be true. People used to be exposed to lots of nasty stuff on a regular basis but no longer.” See, government can do good things. Some other examples of indisputable good things: interstate highway system, GPS, INTERNET. The government is the only way regular people who aren’t billionaires can try to get things done and protect our interests. Yes, there’s corruption, waste, disfunction, but what’s the alternative? Give up and let the people with the biggest guns and fattest wallets run over everyone?

Why do you seem so intent on sticking up for big oil/coal and crapping on anything electric, green, or positive? Where does that get us? Do you think burning these fuels is good for you or the environment? Do you think the resources are unlimited? Did you fail 9th grade earth science?

You go after Brammo, an American company, and other commenters who are supportive of clean air, water, etc. Why? Are you one of those people that gets paid to comment and cast doubt on anything green that’s posted online, or are you just insane? By the way, when you refer to the President as “obamadinejad” that doesn’t really help your case.

Anyway, you just go on and on about how much government sucks (on a motorcycle blog) but you don’t provide any ideas for an alternative. You got this worked up from a post about an electric scooter? Next time, don’t click on it!

Yes just deflect the questions and blame the media, and then play the victim card. You make wild claims and then when called on them, you have no answers. Yes Steve, you’re the only one brave enough to be on the “unpopular side.” Judging by the rhetoric we see daily in this country, I’m not sure the side I’m on is exactly “popular.” I’m not afraid to stand up for the environment, green technology, clean water and air for future generations, etc. because someone might label me a “tree hugger” or “liberal.” Since you’re convinced that I get all my info from the left-wing mainstream media, and just follow along without questioning anything, where should I assume that you get all of your info from? Your ass? You must have a source of information that we all don’t know about. You must know some big secrets. CO2 and pollution are actually good for us? Oil and coal companies are our friends and only care about you and me, not profits. Where do you get the info that forms your opinions?

Steve- Unfortunately my well articulated response wasn’t approved. Basically I just reiterated the 10+ questions I asked you about your political rant, to which you provided no answers. I provided plenty of links in the Brammo discussion, which you ignore, so I don’t see the point in posting more here. I don’t see you providing any links or examples about your claims.

MotoGraph, I have a bunch of random questions for you and I’m very curious to know the answers:

What do you propose we would do to get all this “Green” or as some think “free” energy to charge all the thousands, eventually millions of batteries if electric vehicles were to catch on? Many people believe electricity is free and pure energy in all cases. You seem to think even coal plants are bad – if nuclear, where to we put the spent fuel rods? Where do we build the plants?

Will electric companies start jacking-up their prices eventually? Will our employers start charging us a fair amount to charge our vehicles at work?

Where does the energy come from to build the powerplants, and to mine the resource? (what energy and resource is used to build windmills, solar panels, etc., where do we put them and how are they maintained)? Who mines for the coal if that’s what we use? Do we have more coal than crude oil?

Who lives and who will live next to the existing powerplants and the future powerplants that will be built? Nobody? Will not one human suffer the toxins that are produced? Animals? Do we build them out in the middle of nowhere, where nobody wants to live and no animals live, and build intelligent robots to operate them? What power-source do the robots use? What happens to the robots if they happen to achieve self-awareness? Do we need to allow them an equal way of life and opportunities as humans? Or, do we let the poor or unwanted people or criminals live out there alone and keep the powerplants going? ‘Member the joes who had to work their assess off in the bowels of the old luxury liner steamships… slaving away shoveling coal into the burning-hot boilers while the people above enjoyed the fresh, cool & clean ocean air on their way to a better way of life, or an extended vacation?

What do we do with the spent batteries and housings when they have reached their service life end? What pollutants are made making and recycling batteries?

What kind of resources will be used to build the electric motors? Does the US mine for rare-Earth material? Does China or other countries have an interest in mining for these materials? Is it expensive and does it equal less pollutants than the metals to build internal combustion engines?

Will electric vehicles not use rubber tires, or plastics in their construction? If we don’t use earth’s nectar of crude oil for these components, do we need to reserve vast amounts of land to grow soy beans for an alternative oil?

Do we have the ability to stop natural and BIG polluters of the earth, such as volcanoes, and to a lesser extent wild fires?

What kind of regulations do 3rd world countries have for their industries against polluting nearby eco-systems? Do their people live near these factories? Does the higher class world become “Green” and enjoy zero emissions as far as they are concerned, while the true emissions are pumped elsewhere – sorta like crop-dusting in the office around other people’s areas, while your personal area is clean and flowery-fresh… really like how all this “Green” technology is…

What do we do?

On that note – IMO it seems our sport (if you’re a true Motorcyclist) need not apply to this so far gimicky technology right now. By incidence, motorcycles are already “Green” machines and very efficiently provide riders with what they are looking for – performance and range without major hitches. Many if not most motorcycles are seasonally used as well.

Would Thomas Edward Lawrence ride the Brammo and write about it as he did his Brough Superior with such detail and affection? I doubt it. Would he ride one of these inner-city scooters and be subjected to its range? Certainly not!

@zuki Great questions. A lot of them I’d like to know the answers to myself. Let me see here…

1. Anyone that pays an electric bill knows electricity isn’t free. I’m not sure who thinks that, but I certainly don’t. Coal plants emit plenty of nasty stuff, we know this, what’s wrong with phasing those out in favor of other cleaner options? I don’t believe nuclear is the answer. Too expensive, dangerous, etc. The earth is bathed with shitloads of free energy from the sun everyday. Harnessing it isn’t free, but whats wrong with investing in that? I’m talking REDUCING emissions here, not eliminating.

2. Electric companies might jack up prices, how should I know. What would stop people generating their own energy though? I know I can’t drill for oil and make my own gas, but I can buy solar panels! Some people may not have to charge at work, but if they did, the cost is minimal. Instead of paying the gas station you’d pay your employer (less) to charge up.

3. I’m not proposing an end to all forms of energy other than clean renewables. I realize we will need certain types of fuel, materials, etc. for decades to come, but what’s wrong with investing in and transitioning certain types of transport etc, into a cleaner option when we have the technology now? Why wait? Why continue to pollute our air, water, and land when we don’t have to?

4. This is part of the problem right now. Everyone suffers from dirty air. Solar farms don’t emit anything, neither do wind turbines. They may not be perfect, but why not leverage the technology we have to lessen the amount of pollution and burden on people that live in those areas?

5. Recycle the batteries. There are programs in place already. How much damage is done mining, drilling, spilling, and burning fossil fuels? I know making batteries isn’t the greatest either, but at least they can be recycled. Once you burn something, that’s it.

6. Rare-earth free electric motors are in development. China controls most of the world’s supply. We need a solution, but we’re talking transition here. There’s no magic bullet.

7. Again, I’m not advocating a total abandonment of oil. I realize we use it in many ways everyday. There are many petro plastic alternatives though. If it’s so critical to everything besides transportation, shouldn’t we be trying to conserve it?

8. I don’t believe Volcanoes and wild fires contribute as much to global CO2 emissions as people think. I’d be interested to see if you have any info on that. Also, I don’t believe there are things like mercury in volcanic emissions or smoke, like there is when you burn coal is there? Even if they did, no we can’t control that, what we CAN control is what we emit ourselves. We don’t have to emit as much of this stuff was we do right now: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html

9. 3rd world countries don’t consume nearly as much energy as the US does. We need to come to agreements with other countries on what’s acceptable. The problem is, the US, which is the biggest offender of all, isn’t in a good position to tell everyone else what to do when it comes to emissions.

10. What do we do? We need to research and invest in alternatives. Reduce our consumption. I do know what we shouldn’t do, and that is just blindly hold on to the status quo and completely ignore everything that’s going on around us, not seeking any alternatives because it might disrupt our lifestyle in the slightest bit.

The problem in the end really boils down to the fact that we live on an earth with limited resources and an ever increasing population that’s demanding more of it. At some point we’re going to hit a wall.

11. Yes I agree motorcycles use less. I think that’s a good thing. But I also think the light weight and limited use of a motorcycle lends itself perfectly, even more than 4 wheeled vehicles right now, to electrification. We’re talking about more options here too. No one is trying to take away your favorite ICE.

12. Have you read the latest reviews of some of these electric bikes? It sounds like a totally new riding experience, and even seasoned motorcycle riders seem to like them, plus it opens the door for many people who would have never considered owning a motorcycle in the past. It’s not the 1920s anymore. I personally don’t care what Lawrence of Arabia would think. He’d probably be amazed at the lack of maintenance, quality suspension and brakes, etc. Would he stay stubbornly stuck in the past clinging to what he knows, for fear of trying something new? I doubt it. Range is a temporary problem and for some, it may not be a problem at all.

Let me ask you something. If we do nothing, where are we going to be in 10, 20, 30 years? It may be tough, expensive, etc. but what’s the cost of doing nothing? This is really too much to go into, so I apologize if my responses ramble or jump around.

“It’s clear to me” that you have no answers for my simple, straightforward questions. So you’re “resting your case” now that you’ve been backed into a corner. Typical response from someone who knows they’re wrong and has no way out. Give up and sarcastically “congratulate” the other person. Real original.

Why exactly is the government lying about environmental crisis? Have you been swimming in Houston’s beautiful beaches lately? Take a look at average temperatures in the last 50 years. Noticed any natural disasters lately? Everything they said was going to happen 15 – 20 years ago is happening. I was a skeptic back then as well…. but it seems pretty hard to ignore what’s going on if you actually look at the facts. I realize everything but the beaches in Houston could be a completely natural cycle, but why take chances? We permanently mess up the Earth, that’s it. There’s no where else to go. Why fight cleaning up emissions and actually caring about the environment? Because you want more horsepower? It’s just crazy that people fight this. If you still want to drive a fast vehicle support the new technology and help further it along. Technology is changing, but you’re still going to get where you need to go. New technology is always expensive. Do you think the first ICE engines were perfect, cheap, and widely available? No, they were expensive and had many faults, but look where they are today. It’s just a shift, it’s smart, it’s needed, and there’s no reason to be afraid of it.

Most of the time spent “filling up” is taking off your gloves, pulling out your credit card or fishing for money in your pockets, waiting for the receipt to print and then putting the gloves back on etc… You still have to do all those things when you stop to put electrons in your e-bike. And what if the battery you put in as a replacement is near the end of it’s service life? How long are you going to wait for AAA to fetch the proper battery and bring it to you? I’ll bet it will be a lot longer than 10 seconds x 100! So go ahead and buy your cheap made in China e-scoot and let us know how many stations are carrying your particular battery.

NOBODY, I’ll repeat “NOBODY” gets tired of putting fuel in the tank of a gas powered motorcycle. I personally love fueling up, with that sweet smell of a well blended High Test, I accually get a shiver down my leg.
However, I can’t see anyone really wanting to buy one of these e-scooters or e-motorcycles. Maybe someones kid sister. Nah probably not.

re: “I can’t see anyone really wanting to buy one of these e-scooters or e-motorcycles.”

there’ll be some, but yes we have to view it for what is… nothing more than another sub-niche of what is already a niche business. even if there were a massive infrastructure of charging stations/swap stations, the same 97% of the population who don’t consume ICE’d motorcycling will be the same 97% not giving a rats ass about battery powered motorcycling. it’s the automobile (and not the motorcycle) that has won the war for control of the roads. this message has been brought to you by henry ford.

Even taken seriously, the title is nonsense. It takes no more than a minute to pump some 20l of gas your average bike tank holds and once full, it will carry you for around 200kms at least. You’d be lucky to get 30-40kms out of swappable battery like this (can’t be too heavy or it will be difficult to swap) so you’ll need to find a charging station, stop and swap at least 5 times to get the same range.
Additionally, while it can take a few minutes to queue up to the pump, at least once you get your turn you’re likely to get your fuel. If you had to queue up to the charging station, there’s a good chance none of those 9 available batteries will be charged and ready for you… so how much time are you going to waste then?

I wonder how the scooter on the right handles with that built-in ice chest hanging over the front wheel loaded full of beer? It appears to be very 3rd world to me and just the direction our current government would like to direct us. Both of the scooters appear to be junk, about the same quality you find in the scooters offered in the auto parts stores. Real classy…

It never dawned on me that pumping gas into my fuel lank was taking too long.

Whenever I think of electric-powered vehicles, I think “environmental scam” for some reason.
On top of that, I haven’t seen an electric vehicle yet that I’d like to own.
Guess I’ll have to wait until they really take off, which i hope is not too soon since I really like my gasoline-powered engines.

With all of these battery replacement station ideas the one thing that comes to mind is the variability in how people take care of the batteries they are swapping. As someone who takes care of his stuff, the battery I’m turning in will be in good shape (physically, cosmetically, etc.). The one coming out may be from some yahoo that thought it may be fun to “play” with it or generally abuse it. What stops programs like this from falling into a lowest common denominator situation where all the batteries are abused? Tracking down who inserted an abused battery via the RFID would be difficult if there isn’t a good way of inspecting the incoming battery immediately.

Until battery capacity improves to equal combustion engine/gas capacity, and there are good/cheap ways to charge at home quickly, I’m going to stay on the sidelines.